What autoimmune disease does Venus Williams have? Sjögren's syndrome

Tennis legend Venus Williams was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome in 2011 and she gave fans a performance in September 2024 Good morning America.

What is Sjögren's syndrome?

It's a chronic autoimmune disease that “occurs when your immune system damages the glands that produce and control moisture in your body,” according to the Cleveland Clinic's website, which goes on to say that the “most common symptom is chronic, unusual dryness in the eyes and mouth.”

When was Venus Williams diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome?

The five-time Wimbledon champion announced that she had been diagnosed with the disease after the effects of the disease forced her to withdraw from the 2011 US Open.

“I think I've had problems with Sjögren's for some time. It just wasn't diagnosed. The good news for me is that I now know what's going on,” Venus revealed to Good morning America on 1 September 2011.

“I was having problems with endurance,” she explained, adding that her symptoms had worsened in the summer before the Grand Slam event.

“I had swelling, numbness and fatigue, which was really hindering me. I just had no energy,” she continued. “And it's not that you don't have energy. You just feel exhausted.”

Venus was grateful that she was finally diagnosed with the autoimmune disease so she could learn to live with it.

“It's a huge relief because as an athlete, everything for me is physical – everything is about fitness and form,” she said. “I think the best thing that could have happened to me this summer was feeling worse so I could feel better.”

How did Venus Williams handle life with Sjögren's syndrome?

Although there is no cure for the syndrome, treatments and medications are available to enable patients to lead normal lives.

“At first I just had to wait until I felt better,” said Venus prevention in 2019. “One of the drugs I took took six months to work. Another took one to three months. It was kind of a waiting game until you could go back to what you were doing before.”

“Before I was on medication, my quality of life wasn't that good because I was extremely unwell. Just being alive was very unpleasant. I was so exhausted that I was constantly feeling unwell or in pain,” she continued.

In addition to medical treatment, Venus changed her lifestyle and began to eat a vegan diet, which she continues to this day.

Venus Williams had to overcome the “fear” of living with Sjögren’s syndrome

During a performance on September 9, 2024 on Good morning America to promote her new lifestyle book, Strive: 8 steps to your greatVenus talked about life with Sjögren’s syndrome.

The four-time Australian Open champion said of her 2011 diagnosis: “It was a very different thing for me because I spent my whole life pushing myself and thinking, 'If you work hard enough, you'll get what you want.' And now you know what's going on, that's all gone,” she revealed.

“So I had to overcome my fear, because there's so much fear when you don't know what you can accomplish and it's out of your control. And how do you deal with the fear, how do you redefine it?” she continued. “How do you think about what you can accomplish, but not what you can't? Because there were a lot of things I couldn't do – and I wasn't focused on that and what I could contribute that day.”

“It wasn't always easy. Sometimes I had to remind myself of that every day. I think it made me stronger and better and opened up new ways of thinking,” Venus added. “So it's like we're not asking for fewer challenges, we're asking for more skills.”